From the Inside Out
by Sapphirina
Summary: (Former Title: Every Step, Every Breath) Regret, guilt, and self-doubt. Yilin was too familiar with these things and there was nowhere else to run. Then Jet was there. Possibly JetxOC
1. Chapter 1: Her Identity

**A/N: I wasn't sure if I would ever write a fanfic again. I feel like college had somehow sucked all the creative juices flowing through my brain, leaving me with some utterly ridiculous writer's block. But here I am, writing an Avatar fanfic. :) I hope that I finish this one because I have a few other fanfics that I just left incomplete. This idea has been in my head for a while now, though I was thinking of using Zuko instead of Jet. Hopefully the first chapter won't be too terrible. Enjoy. **

**A/N-2: I am going to try editing the story with the hopes of picking it up this month. I think I have a better idea of what direction I'm going with this than I did back then. (March 2013)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender and its characters. Those belong to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.**

**Chapter 1**

**:Her Identity:**

In the middle of an Earth Kingdom forest, a trail of smoke rose above the treetops and into the night sky. The smoke came from a small camp site. Jet had just finished pitching the last of three tents before he took a seat by the the fire. Today's catch - some fish from a nearby river - was slowly cooking to perfection. While he should have been excited that dinner was just around the corner, his mind was preoccupied.

When things were this quiet, it was hard not to think of the past. His encounter with the Avatar and his failure had ultimately left to the disbanding of the Freedom Fighters. He didn't know where Pipsqueak or the Duke were. In fact, he didn't know where a lot of them had gone off, too. All he knew was that Longshot and Smellerbee hadn't abandoned him, which was more than he had expected. He wouldn't complain though and it was something he couldn't take for granted either. Maybe with luck, things would improve.

Smellerbee and Longshot finally emerged from the bushes. "Are all the traps set?" Jet asked, turning around.

"Yeah," Smellerbee replied. She took a seat next to the fire and Longshot sat down next to her. Smellerbee stared out into the forest where the last trap had been set. "But I doubt any Fire Nation soldiers would be out here."

"There's no guarantee of that," Jet stated. Jet noticed a twig on the ground and picked it up. He took a knife out and started to shave the twig. "The Fire Nation can be anywhere and I'm not about to let them sneak up on us." He met Longshot's gaze and sighed. "Maybe you're right, Longshot. Maybe I am a little paranoid but still: you can never be too careful."

Smellerbee and Longshot quietly exchanged looks. They agreed that a change of subject was needed. Smellerbee looked at the fire. "Are the fish almost done, Jet?"

"Almost," Jet replied. "It'll be a few more minutes until they're ready."

_SNAP!_

The three Freedom Fighters immediately stood up in alarm. Jet pulled out his double hook swords. Longshot grabbed his bow and his quiver, sliding it onto his back. Smellerbee grabbed the weapon closest to her, a dagger. They started walking into the forest, trying to spot the trap that had gone off. It didn't take long. It had been one of their specialties; the spherical cavities that went off the moment someone walked on them.

Jet smirked, looking up at the swinging cage. "See Smellerbee? The traps were useful after all."He tried to get a good look at the person but even with the fireglow behind him, the person was too high in the trees for him to see. "Who are you?"

The trap swayed back and forth in the air as the person struggled to move. Jet tried again. "Who are you?"

The trap swung a little more slowly. Finally, he heard the person speak. It was a girl from the sound of her voice. "I'm not Fire Nation, if that's what you're worried about."

Jet narrowed his eyes. "And how would we know that you're not lying?"

"If I was Fire Nation, I would have already blasted flames at you. I wouldn't waste time talking to you."

"Maybe you're a non-bender," Jet countered.

Longshot tapped Jet and Smellerbee on the shoulder. The group exchanged looks before Jet looked back up at the trap. "Good point." If the person was up to no good, the fight would be in their favor based on numbers and the three of them were not new to combat. "Go ahead, Longshot."

Longshot pulled an arrow from his quiver and notched it on his bow. Then he drew the string back and fired. Soon after, the wooden contraption came hurtling to the ground. The girl's screams only lasted as long as the fall did. Surprisingly the cage didn't crack open on impact. Longshot walked over to it and unlatched the top, causing it to fall apart.

Jet took a good look at the girl. Green eyes and brown hair, green robes that probably had once been silky to the touch now tattered and even partially ripped, dirt-covered skin and shoeless feet – this girl was a mess. Judging by her eye color and garments, it seemed that she was indeed from the Earth Kingdom. The initial apprehension Jet had almost vanished.

"What are we going to do with her, Jet?" Smellerbee asked.

Jet closed his eyes, mulling it over. "She must be hungry," he replied, opening them. "Let's give her something to eat."

* * *

The girl eagerly bit into her second fish. She was a big fan of fish but for some reason, this was the best she had ever tasted. Maybe it simply tasted so wonderful because she had been hungry for a while. She was certain the way she was devouring the fish wasn't very lady-like but considering the condition of her clothes and the dirt on her skin, did it really matter at this point? Besides, after all the crap she had been through the past few days, this was the best thing that had happened and it didn't require her to be lady-like. A campfire, food, shelter – really three tents – made her situation finally bearable. Not to mention that she had people to talk to other than herself.

She finished the fish in a matter of minutes and threw the bones in the bushes. Her green eyes stared at the last fish by the fire. She had eaten two; everyone else had eaten one. Would it be greedy to ask for a third one? "Is anyone else still hungry?"

Jet, the only person she knew by name, raised his eyebrows. "You want more?"

She nodded eagerly and a moment later, another fish was in her hands. She bit into it and grinned happily. She was almost certain that she looked like an idiot now, a greedy one at that. She heard the boy clear his throat and she immediately looked at him.

"We didn't get the chance to properly introduce ourselves," the leader said, the piece of twig moving up and down between his lips. "I'm Jet. And these are my Freedom Fighters, Smellerbee and Longshot. We're also from the Earth Kingdom but our homes were destroyed. We're just travelers, kinda like you are."

She resisted taking another bite out of the fish in her hands. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said, already feeling some sympathy. "My home was taken over by the Fire Nation not too long ago. That's pretty much the reason why I'm out here by myself."

"I see," Jet said. "It was that bad that you couldn't handle it anymore."

Her fingers took the loose hairs by the side of her face and placed them behind her ear. "I guess it was."

Although a curious look came across his face, Jet didn't question her statement and the girl appreciated that. "So what's your name?"

"My name?" The girl seemed to be caught off guard by his question. When Jet nodded, she turned away from him. Her hand reached to put some hair behind her ear but then she realized that there was none to move. Her hand fell back down to her lap. "My name is Sanyi," she said carefully.

"Sanyi?"

She nodded. "I was named after my grandmother." She took a bite out of her fish again, this time with more control. She was wondering what else she could say about truth, there wasn't much she wanted to share tonight. Luckily, when Jet spoke up again, it wasn't another question.

"I'm heading to bed," Jet announced as he got up. He looked down at the new girl. "You can share a tent with Smellerbee."

The girl frowned. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything but wouldn't it make a little more sense for Smellerbee to share a tent with Longshot or even you?"

Jet smirked at her misunderstanding. "Really? I thought it was a little awkward for girls to share tents with boys?"

The girl blinked and then it hit her. "Oh. Right. Of course." She glanced at Smellerbee for a quick second, surprised that she hadn't realized that Smellerbee was indeed a girl. She hoped Smellerbee didn't know what she had meant by her question.

Jet walked into the tent and a few minutes later Smellerbee and Longshot went to their tents as well, saying their goodnights although Smellerbee had been the only vocal one. Alone now, the girl started to finish the now lukewarm fish. Pretty soon she would have to go to bed too.

* * *

-DREAM-

"Yilin! Yilin!"

_How is this happening? _The banquet for the Royal Family was supposed to go smoothly. Heck, everything was supposed to be going smoothly at least until Mao's return. She wasn't ready for this. From the palace banister, she watched as Fire Nation tanks pushed their way through the city and firebenders set fire to everything that they could. She could see people away as fast as they could. But she couldn't help them. She would barely be able to protect the palace when the Fire Nation came knocking on the front doors. Her knuckles turned white as she only held the banister tighter.

"Yilin!"

She turned around, looking at a guard all dressed up in his armor. "What is it?" She asked.

"The Fire Nation! They're invading the palace!"

"Already?" She started to run but nearly tripped in her heels. As a last resort, Yilin kicked the heels off, sending them flying down the long hallway.

"What should we do?"

That was not the question Yilin had been hoping for. She folded her arms and averted her gaze. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" The guard reiterated in disbelief. "You have every guard awaiting your orders and all you have to tell them is that you don't know? If Mao was here-!"

"Well, he's not!" Yilin retorted. It actually hurt to say that because more than ever, she needed her rock. Trying to put on a brave face, she rolled up the sleeves of her expensive dress robes. "Where are the other guards?" She asked, walking past the guard.

The man followed at her heels. "Probably on the lower floors," he said.

"And is the Royal Family-!"

"They're safe," he said, not letting her finish that sentence. "You out of all people should know that they are our first priority."

"Of course," Yilin said. She should have told him to give her more respect than that. However, he wasn't the only one to question Mao's decision to put her in charge of the Royal Guard and to be honest, she was tired of trying to defend herself. "Let's go!"

She and the guard took off running down the hallway. The whole time, she was trying to think of a battle strategy to counter the Fire Nation's surprise attack. But she knew that the whole city was ill-prepared and so was she. If she had only been... She shook her head. There was no time to start regretting everything up to this point. She had to act while she still had the opportunity. If the city was captured, it would all be over.

Before Yilin and the guard could round the corner, a Fire Nation soldier stepped out and shot flames in their direction.

-END DREAM-

The girl sat up, breathing hard and her heart racing.

"Are you okay, Sanyi?" Smellerbee asked groggily.

"I'm fine," she said. She lied back down, waiting for her heart to stop racing. She wanted to forget that night had happened. But as long as she kept running away, she probably wouldn't forget. Guilt did that to people.

**A/N: So how was that? If you have the time, please review. Till later.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Town

**A/N: This chapter would have been up earlier but I went on vacation a few weeks ago and I just came back recently. I actually wrote this chapter while I was in the Caribbean. It wasn't until I started typing it that I realize how lengthy it is. I hope that you enjoy it anyway. :)**

**Chapter 2**

**:The Town:**

Morning came. Yilin woke up and stretched, feeling a little better than she had in the last few days. She looked around the small tent and saw that Smellerbee and her sleeping bag were gone. Frowning, she got up and stepped outside of the tent. Everyone was already up and about, striking camp. The other tents were already down and packed up, which unfortunately meant they had been waiting on her.

"Morning, Sanyi," Jet said. Hearing that, everyone else looked up.

Yilin cracked a smile. "Good morning, everyone." Smellerbee responded cheerfully and Longshot gave her a small wave before he moved behind her and started to take down Smellerbee's tent.

"There are berries for breakfast if you want," Smellerbee said, pointing to a pile of freshly picked berries. "We didn't have time to get anything else."

Yilin shook her head. "That's okay," she responded as she walked over to the berries. She picked up a handful and popped one in her mouth. Finding the taste satisfactory, she continued popping the rest of the berries into her mouth. By the time she was done, the three Freedom Fighters were already picking up the bundles of their stuff. Yilin went over to help them and picked up one of the bigger packs.

"Where are we going now, Jet?" Smellerbee asked.

Jet took out a map of the Earth Kingdom. "There's supposed to be a town not too far from here. We should get there probably in the afternoon." Jet handed the map to Longshot and the archer placed it in his pack. Then Jet looked at his three companions. "Let's go."

Jet was in the front followed by Longshot and then Smellerbee. Yilin brought up the rear of the group. As she walked, she constantly adjusted the strap of her pack. After going the last few days without any extra weight, she found this pack-carrying idea uncomfortable and irritating. She knew she had to carry her own weight but this wasn't what she had in mind.

"You're okay back there?" Jet called out. It took a while for Yilin to realize that question had been addressed to her.

"I'm fine," she responded automatically, knowing full well that wasn't the case.

"If you get tired, let us know."

"I will." So she was already considered the possible liability of the group. The concept wasn't new but it still bugged her. She told herself at that moment she would try her hardest not to slow them down.

* * *

Because the group had taken very few breaks during the day, they managed to reach the quaint Earth Kingdom town a few hours before sunset. After getting a couple of cheap rooms at an old-fashioned inn, the Freedom Fighters and Yilin decided to go around town to explore the shops for a few knick-knacks. Yilin decided to leave the group for a while.

"How come?" Smellerbee asked, pretty much the same question on Jet's and Longshot's minds.

"I want to buy some new clothes," Yilin explained, looking down at herself. "I kinda need some." To be honest, there was no 'kinda' about it. The looks on Jet's, Smellerbee's, and Longshot's faces said that much as they glanced over her tattered robes.

"We'll catch up with you later then," Jet said.

"Bye." She turned around and walked the other direction following the line of shops, certain to find one that had what she needed. The thought of new clothes was exciting; it would give people a reason not to look at her. Her dirty robes coupled with the fact that she needed to wash the dirt off her skin had earned stares throughout the day. She would already imagine how unruly her brown hair must look. Thinking about all this now, she wondered how her companions had willing walked around town with her.

Just as she was about to walk into a clothing shop, she spotted a poster. Her mouth dropped. Immediately she yanked it off the wall. It was a Fire Nation wanted poster with her picture and name on it, followed by a short description and a reward amount. She hadn't hid her face. Did anyone recognize her yet? How many of these posters had been posted throughout the town? Had any of the Freedom Fighters spotted them?

Yilin hurried inside the shop, crumbling the poster in her hand. This was bad. The Fire Nation definitely had control over this town already and she had stumbled into it. For a moment, she thought about running out of town without a word to Jet and the others. But as she searched through the clothing racks for something suitable, she got rid of the idea. She wouldn't leave yet. She had barely settled in. For now, she settled for going on a poster hunt.

* * *

Yilin didn't run into Jet and the others until two hours later. Despite all the time the Freedom Fighters had been exploring the shops, they didn't have much to show. Then again, they probably didn't have much money to spend. She herself was in a similar situation; she didn't have much on her except a few coins. To buy the clothes she had needed, she had been forced to pawn the little jewelry she had worn to the Royal Banquet. Now she carried her new outfit in her black shopping bag, eager to take a shower and put it on.

Longshot looked at Yilin questioningly but the girl couldn't figure out what message his dark eyes were trying to convey. Then Smellerbee explained. "He wants to know if you got everything you were looking for."

Yilin nodded and lifted up her bulky shopping bag. "It's all in here."

"Can I see?" Smellerbee asked.

Yilin shook her head a bit too quickly. "Do you think you can wait until we get to the inn? I would rather show it off there."

Smellerbee raised an eyebrow but otherwise nodded her head. Yilin was relieved that the Freedom Fighter hadn't tried pushing the issue. Inside the shopping bag, in addition to her clothes, were the wanted posters she didn't want anyone to see.

"Sanyi?" Yilin looked at Jet. "Did you go to the town square?"

"I did," she admitted. She had gone there during her poster hunt but to her surprise she hadn't seen a wanted poster there.

"So did you see it?" Jet went on.

She gulped. "See what?"

Jet sighed. "I guess you didn't," he stated. "At town square, on a flag pole, is a Fire Nation flag. Chances are there are Fire Nation solders lurking about. If you see any let us know. We'll deal with them." His dark eyes had a dangerous glint and while Yilin knew that Jet wasn't fond of the Fire Nation, she had no idea that his hatred ran so deep.

Longshot put a hand on Jet's left shoulder and the leader turned around. Whatever he 'told' Jet seemed to dissipate the dangerous air around him. "Alright. Let's head back to the inn before it's dark. This town's supposed to have a curfew."

* * *

Later that night, after a large dinner, Yilin disposed of the wanted posters. She had started a fire in the inn's fire place and had used the posters as kindle. Feeling like she had cleansed herself of a nuisance, she had then taken a shower and had put on her new clothes. Her new garments' main colors were yellow and white. The white pants stopped a few inches above her ankles and the sleeves of the shirt were long. Too long. If the shirt hadn't been brand new she would have ripped them off.

Smellerbee examined her. "You didn't get any shoes, Sanyi?"

Yilin started to brush her wet hair out. "Don't you find shoes a little bit uncomfortable?" She reached for a yellow ribbon on the dresser and put her hair in a high ponytail.

"I'm not sure," Smellerbee said slowly, finding the question a little strange. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Smellerbee got up and opened the door. "Hi Jet," she said.

"Hey Smellerbee."

Yilin took a step back in order to see the teen at the door. Jet's eyes flickered in her direction before going back to Smellerbee. Then he nodded in Yilin's direction.

"Mind if I borrow Sanyi for a moment?"

Yilin exchanged looks with Smellerbee before she went into the hallway and closed the door. She leaned against the wood, her green eyes on the young man before her. "You need something?" She tried to read his face for the slightest hint of what this meeting was about but she couldn't find any.

"I just want to talk," Jet explained. "Why don't we head outside? It should give up a little more privacy." She raised an eyebrow at his suggestion but he shrugged it off, already knowing what it was about. "Don't worry," he said with a smile. "We won't get caught."

Outside of the inn, there didn't wasn't much life except for the few people hurrying to their houses after curfew. Yilin felt that they should be hurrying back to the inn but Jet seemed so at ease. Perhaps he wouldn't mind a confrontation with a few Fire Nation soldiers. Maybe he even hoped for one. A night breeze blew and she had to admit that the cool air felt nice against her cheeks. Jet sat down on the inn steps and she sat down next to him.

"So what do you want to talk about?" She asked.

"You." Jet looked at her, his brown eyes narrowing slightly. "Who are you really?"

"What?" Suddenly it felt like she had somehow swallowed a thousand weights; her stomach felt like it was dropping and wouldn't stop.

Jet reached into his pocket and pull out a folded piece of paper. Then he handed it to Yilin who took it with trembling fingers. He watched as she unfolded it and saw her gulp. "I found it in town square," he told her. "If it's any consolation Longshot and Smellerbee haven't seen it yet."

Yilin handed it back to him. "I see." So he had known the truth about her from the time they had reconvened this afternoon. _No wonder I didn't see a poster there_, she thought as she remembered her searching all over town square for one. Why didn't she realize that earlier? She looked back up at Jet. "So... are you going to tell them about this?"

"Smellerbee and Longshot?"

The girl nodded. She tried to imagine telling them the truth. The moment they found out, whatever trust they had in her would be gone.

"It'd probably be better if you did," Jet said after a while.

"Right..." Yilin let her voice trailed off as she tried to discern her thoughts. Jet didn't seem upset but he could easily hate liars as much as the Fire Nation. The dangerous look in his eyes when the Fire Nation had been mentioned was still fresh in her mind.

"What did you do, Yilin?" He tapped the poster. "The Fire Nation has a pretty high bounty on your head so I'm assuming it's something big."

Yilin looked away from Jet, feeling a little angry at herself. She knew that the boy was trying to find some humor in the situation but it wasn't making her feel any better about this. She should have ran away away this afternoon. "...It's sort of difficult to explain."

"We have time."

She sighed. "I'm from Yuyinshi."

"That's the third largest city in the Earth Kingdom, right?"

Yilin nodded but before she could go on, the two heard some commotion around back. She looked at Jet and saw the friendly look in his eyes had disappeared. He had a strong feeling what was going on around back. "I'll be back," he said and took off running.

Yilin stood up quickly. "Jet! Wait!" She took off running after him.

Jet rounded a corner and then another. He had heard the commotion near the inn but now the source seemed to be on the move. After a while, the commotion became louder. Finally he saw two Fire Nation soldiers, clad in the identifiable red armor, standing in an alley. At the end of the alley was a boy about ten years old. The kid pressed himself into the wall, clearly frightened. When one of the soldiers pulled out a whip, Jet's anger flared.

"Hey!"

The soldiers turned around and Jet ran toward them, his hook swords out. The soldiers forgot about the kid and stepped aside, narrowly avoiding Jet's attack. Jet placed himself between the two soldiers and the young boy. Smirking, the leader of the Freedom Fighters started twirling his swords. "Don't worry," he muttered to the kid. "I'll deal with them."

The soldier with the whip sneered. "You're a cocky one, aren't you?"

The soldier cracked the whip near Jet's feet and Jet stepped back. Then he moved in. Jet swung his hook swords, causing the man to retreat. The man's comrade, a few feet away, kicked in Jet's direction and fire shot out from his foot. Jet ducked quickly and the flames shot high into the air before dissipating. The teen looked back at the firebender and gritted his teeth. He had fought firebenders before but this situation was different. The alley was small, not offering much room to manuever. Each and every move of the firebender would be ten times more lethal.

Another burst of flame came in his direction. Jet rolled out of the way and the flames to hit the concrete wall behind him. Before he could move, the whip coiled around his arm. Jet felt a sharp tug and he was thrown onto the floor.

The firebender smirked. "Too bad!" He threw a punch, unleashing a stream of fire at Jet's face. Suddenly an earth wall rose, protecting the teen from the flames. The firebender gritted his teeth. "What?" He looked around. First he saw the kid still cowering in fear in the corner. Then he looked to the alley entrance and saw a girl with her feet firmly planted on the ground, hands raised.

Jet followed the firebender's gaze and his eyes widened. "Yilin?"

Yilin took a few steps into the alley and rooted her feet in the ground, feeling the dirt sift between her toes. Her green eyes narrowed as she calculated the situation. "Move away from him or else!" She shouted, trying to keep her composure.

The firebender moved forward. "Or else what?" To emphasize his point, he shot fire at her.

Yilin sidestepped quickly with her left foot. As the stream of fire rushed by her face, she felt an uncomfortable wave of heat. Tiny beads of sweat started to form but she held her ground. After that stream of fire was gone, she stomped the ground hard with her right foot. A small boulder rose into the air and she kicked it at the firebender. The rock hit him in the stomach. She ran into the alley, passing Jet and his opponent, and started to fight the firebender hand-to-hand.

Jet looked up and saw that his captor was distracted. He flipped up onto his feet and yanked his arm, reeling the solder in. Then he kneed the man in the stomach. The soldier doubled over in pain and Jet knocked him on the head with the hilt of his sword. The soldier fell unconscious on the ground. Jet looked over at Yilin and saw that she had dealt with her soldier well; the guy was in the ground up to his neck. Jet walked over to the girl. "Nice trick."

"Thanks." Her heart was pounding. It had been a while since her last fight and the rushing adrenaline through her system was a welcomed feeling. Although she was certain she didn't need fire in her face to get her adrenaline going.

"You stupid-!" The soldier was twisted further into the dirt. Yilin didn't stop until the ground covered his mouth, effectively quieting the man.

"Don't worry," Yilin told Jet, putting her hands down. "He can still breathe."

Jet gave the firebender a dark look. "Trust me—I'm not worried about that." Jet sheathed his swords and approached the kid.

Yilin noticed the little boy for the first time. _So he was the cause of all this_, she thought as she walked over to where Jet stood. The kid looked a little frenzied, definitely little freaked out by all the fighting and bending, but he seemed to be okay otherwise.

Jet stooped down in front of the kid and ruffled his hair. The little boy seemed to calm down a bit, probably because he knew that everything was okay now and the two teens in front of him wasn't going to do anything to him. "What's your name kid?"

"Mao," he replied.

Yilin stared at the kid, the name bringing back so many memories of a Mao she knew.

Seeing that the kid could talk just fine, Jet got down to business. "So why were those soldiers chasing after you?"

**A/N: And that's it for now. If the translations are right, "Yuyinshi" should mean "the fabled city." We don't know much about Yilin's city for now but I plan on dedicating one future chapter to her past because I don't know how I will work in flashbacks if the chapters turn out so long. Anyway, thanks to OncExUpoNxAxNightwisH for the review. Chapter 3 will be a lot better than this one. Leave a review and hopefully I'll manage to get the next chapter up by this weekend.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Plan

**A/N: This chapter was supposed be up a week or so ago. I've just been really busy. Anyway, it's a long chapter so forgive me. Thanks to Evalyd Yamazaki and RandomReviewer for the reviews and to those who added this story to their favorite/alert lists. **

**Chapter 3**

**:The Plan:**

After Jet and Yilin had questioned Mao about what had happened and about the Fire Nation soldiers, they had taken the kid home. Luckily his home was only five minutes away from the inn so the stop wasn't out of their way. The two then made their way back, trying to take each turn with caution. It wasn't until they were near the inn that they decided to talk.

"Why didn't you tell me you could earthbend?" Jet asked.

Yilin shrugged. "When I first met you I didn't want to bring attention to myself," she replied. "And I would have told you tonight but we were... 'kinda interrupted.' " Now that she thought about it, if she had been willing to show her earthbending then maybe the Freedom Fighters would have trust her more. After all, that was the best proof to show that she wasn't Fire Nation. _Too late for that now_, she thought. She looked at Jet and continued.

"Back in Yuyinshi, before it was taken over, I was the leader of the King's Protectors. So fighting was something that I had to learn. I had a great earthbending master so I learned a few tricks from him as well."

Jet smirked. "Just a few, huh?"

She smiled a little. "Okay. Maybe I learned more than a few."

They finally reached the inn and headed inside. They passed the receptionist desk and made their way up the stairs. "Is that why they want you?" Jet suddenly asked. "Because you were the leader?"

"Pretty much."

They reached the second floor and nearly ran into Smellerbee and Longshot. The two Freedom Fighters seemed glad to see them.

"Where were you two?" Smellerbee asked. "We didn't see you anywhere in the inn and we were about to see if you ran into any trouble outside."

Jet smirked. "It was nothing we couldn't handle."

Longshot frowned. Just from Jet's expression, he knew that Jet and Yilin had gotten into some altercation with Fire Nation soldiers. And the only reason Jet seemed so happy was probably because those soldiers had been thoroughly beaten. His eyes went to Yilin. Did she take part in the fighting as well?

Jet looked at Longshot's eyes. "I'll explain what happened once we get inside our room," he said. "I rather not have people overhearing us."

* * *

The group was sitting inside Jet's and Longshot's room. Smellerbee and Longshot were sitting together on one of the twin-sized beds. Yilin was on the other while Jet sat in the only chair in the room. Jet started to recount the events that had taken place outside, Yilin making comments wherever necessary. Jet did her two favors as he told the story. One, he didn't mention that she could earthbend. And two, he didn't tell Longshot and Smellerbee that she was wanted by the Fire Nation. He had no idea how much she had appreciated those two things.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Smellerbee asked.

"Were we supposed to let those soldiers have their way?" Jet asked. "The kid missed curfew and they were going to beat him up for it." He had left out the part about Mao yelling a few insults at them. To him, that didn't hold much significance to the story because it didn't justify soldiers attacking a twelve-year-old. But knowing Smellerbee, she would have thought otherwise.

Jet continued. "The kid mentioned that some soldiers are staying at a section in town. Maybe if we-!"

Smellerbee immediately shook her head, already sensing where this was going. "We can't, Jet. We're supposed to lay low and stay out of trouble, remember?" If it was something small, then she probably would be okay with it. But it wasn't a small-scaled scheme that Jet was cooking up and that was her problem. There were too many risks and honestly she didn't want a repeat of last time.

Jet was about to say something but Longshot put a hand on his comrade's shoulder. Whatever Longshot's eyes had said was enough to stop Jet from getting carried away. Somewhat anyway – Yilin could tell that the Freedom Fighters' leader was not done dwelling on the topic yet.

"It's getting late," Jet said. "We can talk tomorrow."

Everyone else agreed. Goodnight's were said and the girls left the boys' room. They crossed the hallway and after using the key, entered their room. Quickly they slipped into the pajamas. Smellerbee got into her bed and Yilin blew out the candles. She climbed onto her bed and collapsed. It was then that she realized that her body was sore from fighting. She was not going to enjoy waking up tomorrow.

"Sanyi?"

Yilin turned her head and faced the general direction of Smellerbee's bed. The room was too dark to see the girl's face but her silhouette was still visible. "What is it?" There had been concerned in Smellerbee's voice and it had the earthbender a little worried.

"Jet didn't do anything rash outside, did he?"

"He didn't... Why'd you asked?"

"Sometimes Longshot and I worried about him," Smellerbee responded after a while. "We don't like the Fire Nation either but Jet's hatred... it's a lot stronger than ours."

Yilin didn't comment. Instead, she thought back to when she and Jet had defeated the two soldiers. She hadn't thought much about it then but now something told her that he wouldn't have cared if she had buried that soldier alive. In fact, he probably would have supported that decision. Figuring that Smellerbee was better off with a clear mind, Yilin kept that theory to herself.

"You know," Smellerbee suddenly said. "There used to a lot more of us than just me, Longshot, and Jet."

"Freedom Fighters?"

"Yeah. But after one of Jet's schemes failed, most of us left. What happened that day, it wasn't one of Jet's proudest moments so we usually don't bring it up."

Yilin's eyebrows furrowed together. "It was really that bad?"

"It was," Smellerbee replied. "The only times we even bring are when Jet might get himself into a lot of trouble and even that's mean of us."

Yilin didn't want to pry but she couldn't help asking the small Freedom Fighter what had happened that day. She really wanted to know. Maybe she was hoping that the story would give her some consolation about what she had done. But she wouldn't explain her reasons to Smellerbee. After what seemed like an eternity, Smellerbee filled her in.

* * *

It was the next day. The group was already up and eating breakfast in the inn's small dining hall. Their plates were filled with the same thing, add or take a few things. Their meals compiled of sausages, scrambled eggs, pancakes, bacon, and fruit wedges. Their drinks were either orange juice or apple juice. The meal was decent; there was nothing to complain about. Jet thought about bringing last night's topic to the forefront now but believed that wouldn't be a good idea. So he decided to choose something else to talk about.

"You've been looking at me for the last few minutes, Sanyi," Jet said before drinking some of his apple juice.

Yilin could feel her face turning red. She had been caught but still the girl tried to act as if she had no idea what he was talking about. "Really?"

Longshot and Smellerbee exchanged looks. They weren't completely sure what was going on.

Jet smirked. "You have actually."

Yilin reached for the syrup as nonchalantly as possible but having Jet's eyes on her was making her feel awkward. She poured the syrup on her pancakes, trying to act as if she didn't notice. However, that little charade didn't last long. "I wasn't looking at you," she insisted, her green eyes back on him. "I was lost in thought."

"Sure you were."

"What are you hinting at?"

He gave her an all-knowing smirk. "The real reason you were looking at me."

Yilin was not going to argue because she would only lose. She knew that she had been looking at him but not for the reason he was thinking. All she had been thinking about was what Smellerbee had said last night about Jet. Despite having most of his followers abandon him, he hadn't lost his determination. It was an admirable trait. But at the same time, she could understand why Smellerbee found it destructive.

Yilin took another peek at Jet and this time met his dark eyes. Jet gave her knowing smile, averted his gaze, and went back to eating his breakfast. Before she could try to explain herself again, the doors to the dining hall were slammed open. Three Fire Nation soldiers walked into the room. Their presence was enough to hush the inn customers and the soldiers were well aware of the fact that they commanded the attention. They stopped in the middle of the room. The guy in the center, the shortest of the small group but probably the most arrogant, had an oh-so-familiar poster in his hands.

Yilin looked at Jet again, this time as a plea of help. Jet whispered under his breath,. "Longshot, lend Sanyi your hat from a minute?" Longshot found the order strange but didn't question it. He untied the knot at the bottom of his chin, took off the hat, and passed it across the table to Yilin. Yilin quickly put it on.

The short soldier took a step forward, separating himself from his fellow men. "Last night," he began, waving the poster around, "two soldiers were attacked by two individuals. We believe that they are hiding at this inn. One of the attack soldiers identified one suspect as the girl on this poster. Has anyone seen her?" No one answered in the dining hall. The man frowned and started walking slowly by each table, his two lackeys trailing behind him. Yilin tried to keep her head low.

"No one?" The man reiterated. He stopped by Jet's table and held the poster up for the group to see. Only two people really bothered to look. "Have you seen this girl recently?"

"No we haven't," Jet said, buying time for whatever shock Longshot and Smellerbee had to wear off. This wasn't exactly the way he had wanted them to find out but there wasn't much he could do about it.

The man looked at Jet before his eyes settled on the only member of the table who hadn't bothered to look. "What's wrong with your friend there?" He demanded, nodding toward her. "She doesn't know she's in the presence of a highly-ranked Fire Nation soldier?"

There was silence at the table for a brief moment. Nobody dared to say a word and nobody dared to move. Suddenly Jet said, "Sanyi, there's no point in being rude. You should greet them."

Yilin lifted her head enough to look at Jet but his eyes were elsewhere. What was he thinking? Didn't he know that once they recognized her, it was game over? Jet clearly wasn't... She sighed, weighing her options at the moment. There was no real way to out of this.

"Well?" The soldier said, his brown eyes narrowing.

Yilin finally turned toward the man and tilted the hat on her head, revealing her face. She saw the look in the soldier's eye. "Hello, sir."

What happened next even had Yilin startled. Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot took hold of the table and flipped it onto the short soldier. Juice was spilt as glass shattered and silverware clattered. The breakfast went flying through the air before landing on the floor and the soldiers. The soldiers stood back, partially in disgust and partially in shock. Now the Freedom Fighters had room to maneuver. Longshot got up, took an arrow from his quiver, and notched it on his bow. Then he drew his bowstring back and fired. The arrow hit one of the soldiers in the shoulder.

"Go!" Jet yelled, unsheathing his hook swords.

"Come on!" Smellerbee urged Yilin. The two girls took off running. One of the soldiers ran after them. Jet quickly hooked his sword around one of the man's ankles, and pulled, tripping the fellow. Smellerbee and Yilin made it out to the hallway, Jet and Longshot a few paces behind them. When they finally made it outside the inn, they saw several more soldiers. However these soldiers seemed clueless about the situation; they didn't even give chase as the group dashed past them. Moments later, the teens heard one of the officers yelling at the soldiers to get them.

"Any bright ideas, Jet?" Smellerbee asked, over her shoulders.

Jet thought for a second. Then he said, "Two streets from now, we're going to turn right. Then we're going to pass three more streets and make another left. On our left side should be an alley."

"That's sounds pretty far, Jet," Smellerbee said. They passed one street.

"Trust me on this," Jet said. "Yilin, you're going to have to seal the alley off from the main road."

Longshot's eyes widened. He had noticed that Jet hadn't said 'Sanyi' but 'Yilin' instead. For the first time since she had met him, he spoke in front of the girl. "You knew about this Jet?"

Jet realized his error. "I'll explain later," he said. "Turn here now!" The group made a sharp right and nearly ran into a shopping elderly couple.

Although Yilin could hear the foot patter, she still had to look back. There were at least eight soldiers determined to catch up, pushing a few bystanders out of their way. Even though the muscles in her legs were feeling tight, she couldn't think about slowing down or taking a breather. The Fire Nation was known to commit terrible crimes to the enemies and she was already wanted. They could throw her in prison and later execute her if they wanted to.

Jet grabbed her wrist and pulled into the next turn. "We almost lost you for a sec."

Yilin looked back and saw that the soldiers were being held up by a merchant who had decided to pull his wagon of cabbages in front of them. "Sorry," she said.

"Don't worry," he told her. "You're still with us."

He pulled her into an alleyway where Longshot and Smellerbee were already waiting. Yilin frowned. The surroundings looked very familiar but she couldn't place where she had seen them. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind and planted her bare feet in the ground. She started to concentrate. Her hands moved up and the earth moved with it. Soon her earth wall stood a story tall but it didn't match up with the four-storied buildings on either side. Still she stopped bending for a moment. Just then the soldiers ran by. Yilin sighed and leaned against the wall. _Just in time too_.

The soldiers were gone and she looked at Smellerbee and Longshot. "Please don't blame Jet," she said. "All of this is my fault. I was going to tell you the truth. Really. I was." She saw Longshot looked at Jet and then back at her. For the first time, she understood what he was saying with his eyes. "He—!"

"I found her wanted poster yesterday in town," Jet interrupted. While he appreciated Yilin trying to help him out, he wanted to explain himself to his comrades. "I asked her about it and she told me the truth. I would have filled you and Smellerbee in but I thought it would be best if Yilin did it."

"Again I'm sorry," Yilin said. She approached Longshot and took off his hat on her head. "Thanks," she said, holding it out for him to take. With a nod, Longshot put it back on his head and tied it underneath his chin.

Yilin then turned around and looked at Jet. His eyes were already on her. She looked away. "So what do we do now guys?" Although she had made the question out to everyone, she had really meant to ask Jet. Still, she didn't want to seem like she was depending on him. He had done enough for her already.

Before anyone could speak, a fourth-story window opened. To Jet's and Yilin's surprise, the kid from last night, Mao, stuck his head out. Jet called out immediately. "Hey!"

The kid looked down and his eyes lit up. "It's you two!" Now Yilin knew where she was.

* * *

Jet, Longshot, Smellerbee, and Yilin had been invited into Mao's quaint apartment by Mao and his mother Ling. The Freedom Fighters, Yilin, Ling, and Mao had taken seats in the living room. Then the four teenagers explained their present predicament. Mao and his mother had been more than happy to accommodate them into their home. They just had to get a few more things such as extra food. Mao had gone outside to get those things while his mother tended to them.

Ling eventually came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of tea. She set it on the living room table. "Mao's been telling me about how two people saved him last night," Mao's mother, Ling, told the group as the reached in for a cup. "I don't know how to thank you."

"It was no problem," Jet replied.

"But surely there must be something I can do for you."

Yilin shook her head. "It's bad enough that we're imposing on you. Trust me, this is more than enough."

Smellerbee sipped some of her tea. It was jasmine tea with a hint of lemon. "So how long have the soldiers been here?" Smellerbee asked.

"About six months," Ling said. "There wasn't much resistance – most if not all our earthbenders went to war." Her brown eyes landed on Yilin. "My son mentioned that you were that wanted earthbender. I'm pretty sure your poster was all over town yesterday but they all seemed to have disappeared."

Smellerbee looked at Yilin, finally making sense of the fire, and Yilin quickly looked away.

Ling picked up the empty tray and glanced at Longshot, who had remained quiet the whole conversation. The mother smiled at him. "You don't talk much, do you?" Longshot shook his head and the mother softened her expression. "I'll be in the kitchen," she told the group. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." She then left, leaving the Freedom Fighters and Yilin alone.

Not too long after the apartment door opened and Mao stepped in. In his hands were a few grocery bags. He dropped them on the floor for the moment and joined the group in the living room. "I got news for you guys," he announced proudly. "For now, the soldiers have given up there search but they alerted everyone in town about how 'dangerous' you are and stuff."

"Thanks, Mao," Jet said.

The kid grinned. "No problem!"

Yilin smiled a bit. "I still can't even get over that your name is Mao."

Mao looked at her. "Really?"

She nodded. "I know someone else named Mao. He's a great earthbender."

"Better than you?" When she nodded her head, the kid coked an eyebrow. "I don't know. That's kind of hard to believe."

Ling popped her head out of the kitchen. "Mao, I need you in here. Bring the groceries too."

The kid sighed. "Coming mom," he said. He picked up the bags and disappeared into the kitchen.

"It's not going to be easy getting out of here, is it?" All eyes landed on Smellerbee.

After a moment - "Who said anything about getting out?" All eyes automatically shifted toward Jet. The leader went on. "If anything, we should be trying to liberate this town. We're Freedom Fighters. It's what we do."

Yilin caught Smellerbee and Longshot exchanging looks. Smellerbee spoke for Longshot. "There's only three of us, Jet."

"Four if Yilin joins us," Jet corrected, his brown eyes on the earthbender.

"Still," Smellerbee interrupted. "The four of us are not enough to take out a full platoon of soldiers."

"Then we'll just recruit more Freedom Fighters."

"How?"

* * *

After dinner, Jet to the roof of the apartment complex and lied down, his trademark piece of wheat by the corner of his mouth. He needed some time to himself to think. He knew who he wanted to recruit – kids around his age. He couldn't imagine an adult wanting to follow his command. Plus teens had this vigor and a sense of pride that most adults lack. The only question that remained was how he was going to convince them to join his cause.

He heard footsteps and tilted his head to the side; Yilin was walking toward him. Thinking back, Jet remembered how quiet she had been during the conversation. She hadn't chimed in once to defend him or back Longshot and Smellerbee up. It made him wonder if she even wanted to be a part of the group.

"Hi Jet." Yilin sat down next to him.

"Hey." His eyes returned to the night sky. "There are a lot of stars out tonight, huh?"

"Yeah. There is." She hugged her legs against her chest and wiggled her toes on the roof. "Jet, if you don't mind me asking, where do I stand with the group?"

"I can't speak for Smellerbee and Longshot."

Yilin frowned a bit. Then she took a deep breath. "Fair enough... Where do I stand with you then?"

Jet sat up. He brought one knee up and put his arm across it. "Whatever you feel is right, Yilin." Jet didn't know what else to say. He had seen it in Longshot's eyes this morning. She was an uncertainty. She had her own problems to worry about and most likely in her mind, her own affairs outweighed theirs and the town's. So he would give her the option – them or herself.

Yilin bit her lip. "Smellerbee's question..."

"What about it?"

"The problem is that people here have no reason to trust us, right?"

"Yeah."

"Why not get someone from town to vouch for us?"

"Who?"

"Mao?"

Jet turned and smirked at her. "You really are something."

"I want to be on good standing with you, Jet," she admitted and then quickly added, "And the others too."

"Well there is something I need help with tonight."


	4. Chapter 4: Leap of Faith

**A/N: I was surprised to realize that it's been almost three years since the last update. Since that time, a few people have reviewed that story – Likewow5556, kawaii kokeshi, Lookthestars, and Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967. Thanks for the review. Finally here is Chapter 4. It was actually fun writing it. I hope you enjoy! **

**Chapter 4**

**:Leap of Faith:**

Mao and his mother didn't have a lot of extra room in their humble home, especially for four guests. Still that hadn't deterred them from trying to accommodate the group. They moved living room furniture around and set up four futons on the floor. The Freedom Fighters and Yilin lay in close proximity to each other, making Yilin feel a bit uncomfortable. Somehow Longshot and Smellerbee had no problem sleeping, even with Jet carefully maneuvering around them an hour later. Yilin closed her eyes, hoping she looked like she was sleeping. This favor – she didn't know what it entailed but she knew it involved the Fire Nation.

"Yilin."

She rolled over, pretending she didn't hear him. Then she felt him shaking her shoulder. She turned and looked up at him. She hoped that maybe if she looked really tired, he would drop it. However, he smirked when he saw that she was awake. "What is it?" She asked in a hushed voice.

"We're going out for a night stroll," he told her, carefully standing up. "Come on. We'll leave through a window."

A window? She frowned. "Why?"

"If we leave through the front door, we'll get caught. The curfew is still in effect, Yilin."

Yilin resisted sighing. She shouldn't be surprised that the leader of the Freedom Fighters would think about the slightest details.

* * *

It had sounded like a bad idea going out the window, maybe even terrifying when she remembered what floor Mao lived on. But when she finally stepped outside per Jet's instruction, her suspicions were confirmed. Anxiously she pressed herself against the building wall, fearing that she was going to slip off the narrow ledge. She carefully looked over at Jet who seemed far too use to these acrobatics. "Jet?"

"I'm listening," he told her.

Yilin tried not to look down. "What are we looking for?"

"The fire nation must have a base outside this town. We locate it and-!"

"Take it down?"

"In due time," he corrected. "Like I said, we need a group to do that. The job will probably be too big for the two of us."

Yilin closed her eyes partially out of relief, partially out of fear. Heights were not her thing.

"See that roof top below?" Yilin warily looked at it and nodded. "We're going to jump to it."

"How?"

"Jump." With that, he pushed off the ledge. Yilin watched in horror as he fell through the air. Just when she swore his jump fell short, Jet grabbed onto the ledge of the roof with one hand. Quickly he pulled himself and again, she felt that he was too used to these acrobatics. He looked at her before beckoning her to follow.

Yilin closed her eyes and counted down from three. Then she pushed off. The rooftop ledge was fast approaching. She reached out and her fingers scraped the edge. Her eyes opened wide, a scream itching to get out of her throat. And then Jet grabbed hold of her arm.

"You okay?" He asked.

She nodded as she looked down below. A shiver ran down her spine. She put her free hand on the wall and a small ledge popped out underneath her dangling feet. "Can I have a moment? I don't want to move yet."

"Take your time."

Yilin took a few deep breaths, reassuring herself that she was safe and she wouldn't be falling to her death anytime soon. She leaned against the cool wall for a while before she looked up and extended a hand. "I'm okay now."

Jet pulled her onto the roof. Yilin felt like the shock hadn't completely worn off but she didn't want to slow Jet down. It seemed like he already had his eyes on the next roof. He looked back at her. "Come on. I won't let you fall. I promise."

Shaking off her fears for the moment, Yilin walked over to the edge of the roof, her eyes on the next rooftop. The jumping distance was shorter than the last one but that didn't make her feel any better. "How many more are we jumping?"

He stood next to her. "We're aiming for the edge of the town. Closest way would involve seven more. I'll jump first, okay?"

"Why can't I just earthbend our way across?" She suddenly asked.

"Earthbending isn't subtle."

"I used it today."

"When the town was bustling and lively. Right now it's dead. Any disturbance and they'd probably hear it. Besides, don't you need a lot of earth to bridge these gaps?"

Yilin sighed but she dropped the topic. Jet looked down and saw a few Fire Nation soldiers walking around below. He paused, waiting for the soldiers to leave the area. Then Jet took a few steps back and did a running leap. He made it cleanly across.

Jet made it look easy but it wasn't enough to shake off her fear. In Yilin's mind, she could see what happened last time playing out again but with the fatal results. Jet stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to join him. Taking in a deep breath, Yilin ran and jumped across. Her feet landed on the other roof. Jet smiled reassuringly at her. "You're doing great, Yilin."

"Thanks," she said even though she felt the opposite.

* * *

After what felt like hours, Jet and Yilin finally reached the edge of the town. Without anymore rooftops to give them a bird's view, things would be a lot more difficult. So Yilin thought until Jet suggested something that sounded so ridiculous to her.

"Have you ever climbed a tree before?"

She stared at him. "Jet, I'm an earthbender. I don't climb trees."

"So you want to walk where the enemy can and most likely will see you?"

She sighed. "Trees it is then."

Jet saw how uncomfortable she was about the idea and changed his mind. After all, he had forced her out of her comfort zone already. Plus, if she wasn't a tree climber, it might slow them down considerably. "On second thought, let's stay on the ground. We can use the shrubbery and trees to hide behind."

"Jet it's-!"

"Don't worry about it," he said, brushing it off. "It's no big deal, Yilin." He heard voices and pulled Yilin behind the nearest bush. A couple of loud soldiers walked past, heading toward the town. Jet wasn't sure where they needed to go but their best bet was to go in the direction the soldiers had come from. After telling Yilin, the two of them snuck around.

The further they moved in, the more soldiers were teeming around the place. Yilin could feel that familiar surge of adrenaline again as her body prepared for a fight. She was about to move behind the next tree when Jet stopped her.

"Stay here," Jet whispered. "If we get any closer, we'll be spotted. I'll climb a tree and see if I can find the camp."

"Okay," she whispered back. "Be careful?"

"I will," he nodded before leaving her side. Yilin turned toward the front, listening and keeping an eye out for any soldiers. She shifted a bit, placing her right knee on the ground. She held her breath as another soldier walked by. _What's taking you so long, Jet? _No more than five minutes could have passed but it felt like more. A few days ago, she never thought that she would purposely go to a Fire Nation camp. She had run away from all this. _I wonder how the rest of the Guard is doing... I wonder if Mao returned to Yuyinshi yet._

_SNAP!_

Yilin quickly turned around, ready to earthbend the moment she saw fire. But all she saw was Jet. His foot was still on the snapped twig but his arms were in a defensive position. "Sorry," she said quietly, dropping her arm.

"It's my fault," he told her as he got down low. "I startled you."

"Did you find it?"

He nodded and pointed up ahead. "It's about fifty yards that way."

Her green eyes opened wide. "We're that close?"

"Yep. Do you want to go in?"

She stared at him. He had to be joking. Just the two of them against an army? "If I say no, are you planning on going by yourself?"

"It would be easier with your help. You can make a tunnel underground."

"Yeah but..."

"But what?"

Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Besides risking capture?"

He smirked confidently. "Taking risks is what I do."

A glowing light suddenly illuminated the darkness around them. Jet and Yilin looked up at a Fire Nation soldier holding a torch. Before the two could make a move, the man shouted:

"Spies!"

The two teens scrambled onto their feet and ran for it. They could hear soldiers heading toward the scene. Up ahead was another soldier, clearly oblivious to the situation. The soldier's eyes opened wide when he saw the two teens running. At the last second, he spun out of the way. Yilin avoided the man, barely sparing him a glance.

"Yilin," Jet said as he jumped over a tree root. "That tunnel might actually be a good idea right about now."

"If I'm going to make a tunnel, we have to stop running," she said, ducking under a low branch. She could hear the yells of soldiers behind. For the moment, it seemed like they were far ahead but she couldn't shake off the feeling that the soldiers were catching up.

Jet suddenly stopped and she slammed into him. Both of them fell onto the ground. "Why'd you..." Yilin looked up and saw the three Fire Nation soldiers riding komodo rhinos.

"Well, well, who do we have here?" The general from earlier moved closer on his komodo rhino. "Yilin, right? And her friend from earlier. What a pleasant surprise."

"It's Jet," Jet said, getting up. He offered a hand to Yilin and pulled her onto her feet. All the while, his brown eyes never left the general. He could hear the Fire Nation soldiers closing in from behind them. He looked at Yilin and saw the fear in her eyes. Gently he squeezed her hand and she looked at him. "Relax," he mouthed.

Yilin inhaled deeply. She wished she could relax but she just couldn't keep cool under this amount of pressure. Not like Mao. Mao... She shifted her right foot oh-so-slightly, testing to see how lose the earth was. It sifted under her foot too easily. A quick look at Jet and then she stomped hard and fast. A dust cloud rose up into the air and spread out. Yilin covered her mouth before she could join the coughers around her. Before she could take off in one direction, someone grabbed her and tugged her in the other. Soon she was out of the dust cloud. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was Jet pulling her. He had brought his collar up over his nose. It wasn't until he was a good distance away, he pulled it down.

"How about a warning next time, Yilin?" He called out.

"Sorry!" Yilin apologized. "But I think we lost them."

"I highly doubt that," he said, not slowing down at all. "They're riding komodo rhinos. I'm pretty sure they can outrun us."

Yilin looked over her shoulder.

Jet came to a halt.

Yilin grabbed his wrist. "Come on. We have to keep going!"

"Don't you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

Yilin was the one who had a hold on him but Jet was pulling her. "This way!" He urged. He started running, forcing the girl to keep up. At first, Yilin didn't know what Jet was thinking. Then she heard it – rushing water. At that moment, she saw the komodo rhinos on either side of them. "Jet!"

"I know! I think we're almost there!"

Yilin could see that the ground ahead of them came to end in thirty feet. With each step they took toward the edge, the roar of rushing water only got louder. "You're not serious, right?!"

"Are there any other options, Yilin?!"

"_Besides_ hurtling ourselves off a cliff?!"

"Yilin, trust me on this!"

Their feet were off the ground and in the air. Yilin saw the height of the waterfall. If Jet had even slowed down, she wouldn't have jumped. It was too high and the water they were supposed to land in was too far below. She flailed her arms as if that would slow her fall and then – _SPLASH! _There was pain, coldness, and then the sudden pull of the current.

-FLASHBACK-

"Ready, Yilin?"

Yilin nodded. This was the second mock fight of her training session with Mao. In the first one, he had gone easy on her. It was his way of assessing whether she had improved or practice in her downtime since the last session. The second mock fight was when he became serious. He almost always used a new move to open it up but this time he was not going to catch her off guard.

She quickly got into her stance. The moment Mao lifted his foot she prepared to block the incoming rock with a shield. She was unprepared, however, for the cloud of dust engulfing them. She inhaled at the worst possible time and started coughing into her sleeve.

"Yilin, you can't assume things. You have to be prepared for anything."

Yilin frowned. Was her hearing affected, too? It sounded that his voice was coming from all around her.

"Part of today's lesson is improving your instincts."

She coughed out the remainder of the dust in her lungs. Mao had plenty of time to launch a second attack on her. What was he waiting for? Holding her breath, she pushed both hands down in a fast motion, clearing the dust. She didn't see Mao anywhere. She stepped back, waiting for the slightest hint but then something grabbed her ankles. One instant, she was above ground. The next, she was neck-deep in the ground.

Mao popped out of the ground in front of her and gave her his signature lopsided grin. She gave him a dirty look when he sat down in front of her, his brown eyes full of amusement. "The other part of today's lesson is how to make a dust cloud." He picked up the dirt, letting it sift between his fingers. "Here the dirt is pretty loose so a small quake will do. Other times, if the dirt is more compact, you might need a bigger earthq-!"

"Um, Mao, I don't mean interrupt but can you get me out of the ground?"

Mao blinked before grinning. "You're a good earthbender. Surely you can manage it."

"Not with my arms pinned to my sides."

Mao stood up. "My apologies." He stomped his foot and Yilin shot out of the ground. She must have flown twenty feet up before she came straight back down and into his arms.

It was strange being close to his handsome face. She couldn't help but notice every detail on his face. She noticed the way his dark hair fell over his thick eyebrows and into his eyes. She could see the green flecks in his eyes. Her gaze passed over his strong nose to his lips. Her face heated up. Why, oh why, did she have to have a crush on Mao? It was embarrassing and an unnecessary distraction and if he didn't put her down any time soon, her heart would burst out of her chest. It was pounding faster and faster because he hadn't said a word yet. He was only looking at her, which meant he could see the redness in her cheeks.

"Y-you're okay?" Mao stuttered. Mao wasn't the sort of person to stutter. She was definitely making this awkward. He set her down on the ground carefully. "I thought it was funny but I just remembered you don't like heights."

-END FLASHBACK-

"...lin. Get up, Yilin." Yilin's green eyes fluttered open. Immediately she started coughing up the water in her lungs.

Jet sighed in relief. "For a second, I thought I had to carry you all the way back."

"I'm glad that's the biggest of your concerns."

Jet smirked. "Don't be offended. I would have carried you."

"It's a long way back, Jet." She looked around. "Do you know where we are?"

"I have an idea." Jet took a step toward the river. "The river flows up that way. And we came west of it. If we follow that general direction," he concluded, pointing ahead, "we should be okay."

"That's good to know." This had been a terrible night. She was drenched, cold, and miserable. And somehow they were supposed to return to the town without running into the Fire Nation. If she had known it would be this bad, she would have tried to talk Jet out of it. "What do we do now?"

"Wait until the sun rises," Jet said. "At least then we can use the crowds to our advantage."


	5. Chapter 5: Two More Earthbenders

**A/N: It's been a very long time. I'm hoping that after this chapter, the rest will flow naturally and maybe by the end of the year, this story will be close to finished. Yeah... I have high hopes for myself. Anyway, thanks to ElementDancer for reviewing a few months back. You may have noticed that I changed the title of the story. I was never completely pleased in the beginning with the original and I think this one is a lot better.**

**Chapter 5**

**:Two More Earthbenders:**

Even with the sun beating down on Yilin's face, daylight was the best thing to happen in the past several hours. Last night had been ludicrous. Not only had they had risked capture, they had risked their lives. Jumping off rooftops, jumping off cliffs – these were things she would have never done if not for Jet. It had been scary but in a way also exhilarating. Jet had her doing things she didn't know she was capable of.

Yilin got up from the grass and found her clothes hanging on a nearby branch. She felt them. While they weren't wet, they were still a bit damp. She threw them on.

"Jet?" She called out as she tied her sash. She heard nothing. _Maybe he's still sleeping? _She tried again. "Jet?"

"Yeah?" He answered groggily. His voice came from behind some bushes.

"I'm already dressed."

"Give me a minute."

Yilin waited. Finally Jet emerged as he was strapping his shoulder armor back into place. The two sixteen-year-olds looked at each other.

"Ready to head back?" Jet asked.

Yilin nodded.

They had to climb up a steep slope but once they passed that, it was easy sailing from there. Jet seemed to know his way well through a forest. Yilin could only watch as he did the smallest of things before saying that they should go this way. The walk back seemed longer than it had last night. By now, the others had to be up.

"Do you think they're worried?" Yilin asked. "Smellerbee and Longshot?"

"Probably," he said after a while. "Hopefully they won't come looking for us."

Yilin hoped so, too. She was almost certain that the Fire Nation was searching the forest for them still. "Um, Jet?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she said awkwardly, casting her gaze off to the side. "I know wasn't exactly thrilled about some things last night but your quick thinking kept us out of trouble."

"So did yours," he said, sparing a glance over his shoulder. "Dust cloud, remember? It wasn't a perfect run but I think we make a decent team."

Yilin couldn't tell if Jet was being honest or trying to make her feel better. Jet was the quick thinker. He had kept her calm when her nerves threatened to get the better of her. Ninety-nine percent of last night had been Jet's doing.

The distance between her and Jet seemed to have increased so Yilin hurried up to be by his side. Everything about him breathed confidence this morning. How could he not be worried after last night? Wasn't this the point that they should leave the village? But Jet wouldn't do that. He had intentions of saving this town.

After some time, their surroundings started to look familiar. Then the town loomed into view. It was teeming with the Fire Nation. Yilin and Jet watched from afar but exchanging looks. It was clear that the soldiers were looking for them.

"This is going to be a problem," said Jet, "and not just for us."

* * *

Little Mao burst into his home apartment, catching not only his mother's attention but the two Freedom Fighters sitting in the living room. He was out of breath and his brown eyes were wide with alarm. "They, they, they-!"

"What?" Mao's mother asked. Ling's eyebrows furrowed out of concern. "Is it Jet and Yilin? Did they get captured?"

Mao heard the alarm in his mother's voice and quickly shook his head. "I couldn't find them but the Fire Nation soldiers – they're going through houses! I think they're looking for you," he concluded, his eyes on Smellerbee and Longshot.

Ling headed toward a window to confirm the situation. "You two need to get out of here fast. They're only a few houses away."

"How about disguises?" Mao suggested eagerly.

His mother shook her head. "They're probably checking people who leave town."

"How about we stuff them in a cart and wheel them out? Like a cabbage cart?"

"They're probably checking carts too if they want to be thorough."

"If only there was a secret tunnel," Smellerbee said. "Then we can sneak out that way."

Mao's eyes lit up. "I'll be right back!"

"Mao!" exclaimed Ling but her son was already out the door and running down the hallway. The woman went over and shut the door. She didn't need any Fire Nation soldiers peeking easily into her home. She turned toward Smellerbee and Longshot with a frown. "Did Jet and Yilin say where they were going?"

The two Freedom Fighters shook their head.

"I hope they're safe," said Ling. "Or else who knows what the Fire Nation will do to them."

"They should be okay," said Smellerbee. "Jet wouldn't get caught that easily."

Longshot picked up on the doubt in Smellerbee's voice and patted her on the pack reassuringly. He was also worried but he knew there was only one way to look at this – they couldn't get caught. If Jet and Yilin were safe, he and Smellerbee could find them. If they were caught, he and Smellerbee had a better chance of saving them outside of captivity.

There was a knock on the door. Ling froze. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Mom!"

"...Do you have company?"

"Just Rosemary and Thyme."

Ling opened the door and Mao dashed in. He was followed inside by two other kids probably a couple of years older than him. Even though one was a boy and the other was a girl, they looked almost the same. They had the same brown curly hair – although the boy wore his short – the same round nose, and the same pinch-able cheeks. Their eyes were a deep brown.

The twins bowed respectfully. "Hello, Ms. Ling," they said in unison.

"Hello," said Ling. "How is your father doing?"

"Okay," answered Rosemary, the girl.

"He could always be better," added on Thyme. Thyme looked back and spotted the two Freedom Fighters sitting on the couch. "Are they who you were talking about, Mao?"

Mao nodded. "Yep."

Thyme approached the two teens and stuck out his hand expectantly. Smellerbee and Longshot stared in confusion until Rosemary punched her brother in the arm. "Hey!" cried out Thyme.

"Stop being greedy," said Rosemary, putting her hands on her hips. "This isn't a job. It's going against the Fire Nation!"

"Shh!" Ling rushed over to the group. "Keep your voices down. You don't know who can hear us."

"Sorry," apologized Rosemary.

Smellerbee looked at Mao. "Are they supposed to help us?"

Mao grinned and put his hands behind his head. "Remember that tunnel you asked for? They're the ones for the job?"

* * *

In a small time frame, Smellerbee and Longshot learned a lot about the twins than should have been possible. As the two Freedom Fighters carefully descended the stairs with Mao and the twins, Rosemary talked about how they mother had died when they were little, how she had been an awesome earthbender and if she had been alive, she would have taught them how to properly earthbend.

"We suck at earthbending alone," continued Rosemary. "But together we're awesome. Like super awesome. Like super-!"

"Duper awesome," Thyme finished. "Usually we get money for our work-!"

"Since it's illegal to earthbend with the Fire Nation around-!"

"And we don't like breaking the rules—"

"Which isn't really true but you get the idea."

"If you suck at earthbending," started Smellerbee, "how can you make a tunnel all the way out of town?" She wasn't an expert but she was pretty sure tunneling through solid earth required a fair amount of skill, something that the twins seemed to be lacking.

Rosemary grinned. "The tunnels are already there. We just have to door to them. Lucky for us, they run under this building."

Mao jumped the last few steps and landed on the ground floor. "We should get started before soldiers come in here."

Thyme nodded as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He looked at his sister once she was at his side. She gave him a quick nod.

Whether it was through practice or just knowing the other so well, the twins moved in sync. With a thrust of their hands, the earth next to them collapsed into a hole. They hopped in one after the other without any hesitation. Smellerbee, Longshot, and Mao peered into the darkness. A box of matches nearly hit Mao in the face.

"Whoa!" Mao fumbled a bit before catching it.

"Come on down!" yelled Rosemary.

Mao took a deep breath and jumped into the hole. A few moments later a small flame appeared in the darkness. "Smellerbee? Longshot?"

Smellerbee and Longshot looked at each other before jumping down, too. No sooner had they jumped down, the hole above them closed. Mao blew out the match he was holding before striking another against the box.

"Do we know where we going?" asked Smellerbee.

"Outside town," replied Mao. "There's a cave I think to the north. We can easily seal it off."

"We?" questioned Thyme.

"You know what I mean," said Mao. When there wasn't much of the match left, he blew it out. "Besides," he continued, lighting another match, "this is a team effort."

"And how are you contributing?"

"You might get to meet another earthbender."

Thyme folded his arms. "Is he any good?"

"_She _is."

Thyme exchanged looks with his sister. "We'll be the judge of that."

Longshot borrowed the matchbox from Mao and lit one. Then he looked around the tunnels. Right now he could only see two ways to go and, after a closer examination of his surroundings, he spotted what looked like a map of the town. He held the match closer to it.

"We did that," Rosemary said proudly. "There are more maps in the tunnels, too. It helps to know where we are in our business."

"What's your business?" asked Smellerbee.

"Don't worry about it," said Thyme, already walking away. "It's not _your_ business."

"Ignore him," said Rosemary with a shrug. "He's upset that there's no pay at the end of this."

"So what _do_ you two do?"

Rosemary dropped her voice to a whisper. "It's a secret." She skipped after her brother. "Come on! Let's find your friends!"

* * *

-FLASHBACK-

The sun was just starting to rise but Yilin was already dressed and heading toward the palace gates. It was weird walkthrough empty palace halls. She was used to it bustling with servants and the Royal Guard members patrolling, checking on the Royal Family's wellbeing and needs. Even she was part of that daily routine. Sometimes the Prince would ask for her to come and play board games with him. Thinking of the prince now, she wondered if he was still sleeping.

Yilin stepped into the massive courtyard and walked toward the palace entrance. The entrance was two giant slabs of rock that were at least twenty feet in height and five feet thick. Due to their sheer size and mass, it usually required two earthbenders to move them apart. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure how she was going to open the gates. Maybe she could move only one of the doors but what if two earthbenders were necessary? She sighed. There was only one way to find out.

Yilin nearly stopped in her tracks as she spotted someone in the shadows standing next to the gates. Her heart raced as she worried about who could be standing there. But as the distance shortened between them, she realized that the answer should have been obvious.

"Mao," she whispered as she approached him. "What are you doing here?"

"That's kind of a stupid question," he said as he closed the gap. "I know what today is."

Her expression softened a bit. "So you remembered."

He playfully knocked her forehead. "How can I not? Your mom was the whole reason you joined the Guard in the first place. I'm surprised you even stuck around after she died."

Yilin lowered her gaze. "Yeah. Me, too."

Mao patted her on the back. "Come on, Yilin. Let's go." Together, the two earthbent the gates open.

There was a slight tremble in the ground as the doors moved apart but it was not enough to disturb anyone. Still, Yilin looked back at the palace to see if anyone would come out. "You don't have to come," she suddenly said, looking at Mao again.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's fine. I don't mind. Besides, sometimes it's nice to have someone to go with after the first year."

"Oh." She didn't dare ask who he had lost, in case it brought back bad memories or something like that.

"Ready?"

She nodded.

-END FLASHBACK-

That first time, she had broken down at the grave for some unfathomable reason. Mao had comforted her the best he could. Would she need that same comfort again?

Yilin rested her head against the tree bark and starting pulling grass out. Amid all the craziness, she had almost forgotten that the second anniversary was tomorrow. She wouldn't know what to do if she did forget. It would be unforgiveable in a way, especially since everything she had done up till that day had been for her mother.

She stopped what she was doing when there was nothing but dirt underneath her fingers. Mao still remember? Or had he forgotten because he was too busy fighting with the Earth Kingdom? If he did forget, she wouldn't mind as long as he was okay wherever he was.

"Yilin." Jet jumped down from a nearby tree.

The girl snapped out of her thoughts. She stood up. "What is it? Are we making a move?"

Jet nodded, facing the general direction of the town. "We have to. Longshot and Smellerbee have no way out and those soldiers are closing in on their location."

One didn't have to be good at math to see that they would be severely outnumbered. After using all their luck last night, it would be insane to go into town now and attack left and right. Still... "What's the plan?"

"We'll have to sneak in," he said. "You can make a tunnel, right?"

Well, that was a better plan than the one Yilin thought he had. "I'll need a layout of the town," she said. "Before we end up somewhere we don't want to be."

Jet grabbed a stick and got down on one knee. Quickly, he started drawing in the dirt. After a while, the squares, circles, and rectangles began to resemble the town. Yilin was impressed that he had remembered so much detail. No wonder he had spent the past hour in the trees observing. It gave him a good bird's eye view of his surroundings.

A bird sang nearby.

"This is the town more or less," he said. He circled one of his rectangles. "This is Mao's home and this," he went on, drawing an X, "is where we are." He drew a straight line connecting the two. "We should follow this path and come out behind that wall you made yesterday. To get into the building, you can earthbend your way in or up the wall. Although going up the wall is risky."

The bird sang louder a second time.

Jet paused and let out a bird call. Immediately he got an answer back. Yilin looked up from the map, watching Jet in confusion as he quickly did another one. There was another answer, this time a lot closer. Finally Yilin realized that it wasn't a bird Jet was communicating with but a person.

The bushes rustled and finally the person Jet had been communicating with emerged. It was Longshot.

"Is Smellerbee-!"

Longshot nodded his head before Jet could finish his question. Jet let out a sigh of relief and got onto his two feet. He started to erase the map with his foot. "And Mao? Is he here?"

Longshot nodded again. But then his expression changed. Yilin was sure it meant something but she didn't know what.

"We'll explain what happened later," replied Jet.

Yilin raised her eyebrows in understanding. How did Jet and Smellerbee do that?

Longshot gave another meaningful look to Jet before disappearing into the bushes again. Jet started to follow his fellow Freedom Fighter. Yilin took the hint and followed as well. Even though they were probably safe out here, Longshot and Jet didn't forgo stealth and made sure that there were no soldiers lurking around. Yilin knew that they could fight but apparently they were used to infiltration as well. Climbing trees, bird calls – they had this lifestyle down.

Yilin, on the other hand, was not used to be this stealthy. The Royal Guard never had to hide from any enemy. It had always been confrontational because they were confident enough in their abilities. And to top it all off, the city had never been invaded before. Until that night.

Longshot stopped at a short fall line in the landscape. It was a wall of earth that was only ten feet high and seemed to stretch for quite some distance. Longshot looked back at Jet. The Freedom Fighter leader, with a perplex expression, came forward and touched the hard earth. "In here?" he asked.

Yilin frowned. "What's in there?"

"Smellerbee and Mao."

Yilin stepped up and touched the wall. _Seriously? They're in here? _She rooted her feet into the ground. She extended her arms and started to pull apart with her hands. A moment passed before the wall started to split. She was surprised that a cave was revealed. The four people inside, who were sitting around a lantern, flinched at the sudden flood of daylight. It didn't take long for their eyes to readjust.

Smellerbee stood up immediately. "You're okay!"

Jet nodded. "I see that you are, too." His brown eyes landed on the two unknown people in the cave. "And you have company. They're earthbenders, aren't they?" It was the only way they could get inside a sealed place.

"We are," said the boy. His eyes landed on Yilin. "Since you're the only girl, you must be the earthbender then."

"They're Rosemary and Thyme," said Mao, pointing back at the twins with his thumb. "Rosemary, Thyme, this is Jet and Yilin."

"Those are interesting names," commented Yilin.

"They're actually nicknames," explained Rosemary. "From a children's story."

"You should come in," said Thyme. "Before the Fire Nation wanders by and sees us."

Longshot, Jet, and Yilin entered the cave. Once Yilin sealed the place off, it became pretty dark. The only source of light came from the nearby lantern.

Jet sat down on the ground and looked around. "If we're staying here, we'll need more lanterns."

"Staying here?" questioned Mao. "I thought you we're going to escape while you still can."

A determined look passed over the young leader's face. "We'll get rid of the Fire Nation."

Thyme's brown eyes lit up. "Seriously? Well, you can count me and Rose in."

"Me, too!" said Mao excitedly.

"Do you have a plan for this?" asked Smellerbee.

Jet smirked. "Of course I do. It ties into what me and Yilin were up to last night."


	6. Chapter 6: A Mother's Wish

**A/N: This took a while to write but it didn't take as long as it could have. Anyway thanks to colouredred for reviewing. :)**

**Chapter 6**

**:A Mother's Wish:**

Jet had given this rescue mission a fair amount of thought. Actually a lot of thought. This, Yilin thought to herself, was why people wanted to follow Jet. He laid out every detail before the group, even including a relative time schedule. His voice was steady yet powerful as he articulated his ideas. Smellerbee and Longshot, who had their doubts, soon forgot about them. Mao, Rosemary, and even Thyme were in awe. Yilin couldn't help feeling a bizarre mixture of admiration and envy.

"First thing's first," said Jet. He looked at the very eager Mao. "We need more of us. You think you can help with that?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Mao.

"Ooo! Ooo!" Rosemary raised her hand high into the air. "Me too, me too!"

"Why not," said Jet, smirking. He was clearly in his comfort zone. "The more people looking, the better. You're gonna help them, Thyme?"

The boy shrugged as if it was all beneath him. "I can if they're desperate."

"How many people do you need?" asked Mao.

"I'm hoping for twenty of us," answered Jet. "Right now, assuming everyone here joins our cause, we already have seven."

"So..." Mao did some quick math on his fingers. "Thirteen more people!"

Jet smiled. "Exactly. Do you know any more earthbenders?"

Mao mulled it over. "Um, just Rosemary and Thyme."

Jet looked at Yilin. "I guess you'll only have two students then."

Yilin raised her eyebrows. "Wait. What?"

Jet raised his eyebrows in return. "Who else can teach earthbending here?" Yilin wanted to explain why she couldn't but Jet put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I'm counting on you."

She looked into his brown eyes but that only made her not want to speak her mind. She turned toward the twins. Rosemary looked at her with joy while Thyme's eyes seemed to only question her abilities. She resisted the urge to sigh. _Just be positive about this. _"I look forward to teaching you two."

Thyme tilted his head to the side. "You don't look like it.

"She's just tired," said Jet, coming to her rescue. "We had a rough night, remember?"

Thyme didn't look like he believed him but he dropped the subject. He stood up and walked to the sealed entrance. "See you in a week, right?"

"Right."

Rosemary joined her brother and together they opened a tiny crawl space to the outside. "Bye," she called out as she left the cave. Thyme raised his hand awkwardly as his goodbye before he followed his sister out.

Mao was about to leave but he stopped. "Should I bring back food? I can-!"

"It's fine," said Jet, cutting him off. "Trust me – you've done more than enough already."

Mao beamed, clearly proud of himself. "See you next week then!" He crawled through the hole. A few moments later it closed behind him.

Yilin looked at the three Freedom Fighters. Those doubts she thought were gone? They were back and they only thickened the air.

"There's no way we can train kids to fight in a month," said Smellerbee, finally voicing one of the many concerns in her mind.

"I know that," said Jet. "I don't expect them all to be combat ready. But as long as they can infiltrate a place without being caught, then that's good enough for now. We need eyes and ears around town if we're going to succeed."

_Jet's right_, Yilin thought. _We need those eyes and ears since our hands are tied at the moment. But a month in here? _Her green eyes examined her surroundings. _I hope there are no monkey bats in here._

Jet stood up. "We should split into pairs and check out the cave. It won't be anything like our old tree house but we can make something out of it. Yilin, want to come with me?"

Yilin stared at him in confusion. He wanted her to come with him? After just spending the past night together? She wondered how this looked to Smellerbee and Longshot, Jet's actual friends. "Are you sure, Jet?"

"Of course. Otherwise I wouldn't ask."

Yilin looked at the ground. "Maybe Longshot would rather go with you?"

Jet didn't protest. "Want to come with me, Longshot? I got some things I want to discuss with you anyway."

Longshot nodded and stood up. Jet picked up the matches. "Smellerbee , Yilin, you two can take the lantern. We'll take the left tunnel."

The boys left to start what Yilin imagined to be the most one-sided conversation ever. She turned toward Smellerbee. "Should we get going, too?"

The girls took the right tunnel of the cave. Smellerbee walked ahead, holding the lantern out in front. At first nothing was said. Then Yilin decided to break the silence. "You know, you'd think I'd feel right at home surrounded by rocks and all but this cave freaks me out. Have you ever seen a monkey ba-!"

"What's going on between you and Jet?"

It took a while for Smellerbee's words to register in her mind. "Um, nothing really. I'm not interested in him if that's what you're-!"

"That's not what I meant. Last night and then how he wanted to be alone with you just now – are you two planning something else? Apart from what he told us?"

Yilin shook her head. "Of course not. Jet wouldn't keep you and Longshot out of anything."

"Except for last night."

Oh. Yilin wasn't sure if she should try explaining Jet's actions. It could turn out bad. "I'm pretty sure he had his reasons."

"Did he share them with you?"

"Not really." If Smellerbee didn't believe her, she didn't say so. For that Yilin felt grateful. "So, um, are you going to help Jet take down the Fire Nation?"

"Remember what I told you about the last time?"

"Yeah," replied Yilin. "But maybe things will be different. Everyone needs the chance to redeem themselves."

"I'm not mad at Jet," Said Smellerbee, frowning slightly. "I just don't want him going down this road again. It might not end well for him this time."

"He might succeed."

"But at what cost?"

Yilin took a deep breath. "Like I said, everyone needs that chance."

-FLASHBACK-

"You're ready to walk back in there?" asked Mao. He placed a strong hand on her shoulder, bending over slightly to be almost eye level with Yilin. "If you need more time to get it all out, I can wait."

Yilin squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that the tears would stop flowing. She had thought that she had been all cried out already by the time they had left her mother's grave. However, the closer they had gotten to the palace, the worse the stinging behind her eyes had only gotten. Then it had become too much. Mao, being the caring person he was, had stopped for her. He didn't rush her; he only waited for the end. But to Yilin, there was no end to this.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm wasting your time. Just go already."

"I won't leave you like this."

She sort of wished he would. There was no such thing as cute crying for her. But then his arms wrapped around her and suddenly she found herself hoping he wouldn't let go.

"It's more than just your mother's death, right?" he asked.

"I..." She hesitated slightly. "I don't know if I ever made it up to her."

He stroked her brown hair. "You mean-!"

She nodded against his chest. "Do you think helping the Guard was enough?"

"It's not because of that," he said. "You wanted to turn a new leaf. And you did." He pulled away and looked down at her. "She would be proud of you."

Yilin sniffled and quickly blinked her eyes. "Thanks. Even if you're just saying that."

"Hey," he said, acting like he was offended. "I always mean what I say."

"I'm sure you do."

He smiled as he playfully knocked her on top of the head. "Ready to go back in?"

Yilin nodded. "Let's go."

-END FLASHBACK-

"A watering hole!"

Yilin nearly bumped into Smellerbee. The earthbender spotted the small watering hole in front of them. She approached the edge and carefully put a hand in. While it was cold, it was still a tolerable temperature. Something suddenly brushed against Yilin's fingers and she immediately pulled her hand out. Smellerbee came closer and brought the lantern closer to the surface. The light reflected off silvery scales swimming by.

"I guess that's lunch," joked Smellerbee.

Yilin looked around. "There doesn't seem to be anything else worth noting. Should we head back?"

"Sure. Why not?"

* * *

By the time the girls got back, Jet and Longshot were already there. At the sound of their footsteps, Jet looked up. "Hey. Found anything?"

"A watering hole," Smellerbee replied. "With fish."

"Maybe it's connected to the waterfall," he said. "A food and water supply. That's a great find."

"Did you find anything?" asked Yilin.

"Not much," replied Jet. "It just leads to a dead end. But we found this."

Longshot tossed a sliver at a rock. Yilin caught it. Her green eyes opened wide. "Is this-!"

"So you know it then?"

"What is it?" asked Smellerbee.

Yilin moved away from the lantern and into the darkness. The rock started to glow brightly blue. "Is there a lot?"

"There is some covering the walls at the dead end," explained Jet. "But with your skills, we can probably get more."

"We can use them to light the cave," thought Smellerbee out loud. She approached Yilin with the lantern and the rock's glow began to dissipate. Still Smellerbee came closer and took it from Yilin. She studied it at all angles as if she was in disbelief that it could do emit so much light. "They're better than lanterns."

"Yeah," agreed Jet. "Now we don't need to worry about a light source anymore. I think we have the necessities here."

"Except for comfortable bedding," said Yilin as she determined that the ground was not only cold but hard as well.

Jet smirked. "If that's your only concern, I think we'll be fine."

Yilin looked away. "So what do we do the whole day? Since we're stuck in here."

"Remodeling, I guess," replied Jet. "Assuming you're up to it."

She looked around. "I can do some work."

* * *

The first night sleeping the cave had been barely tolerable. Yilin didn't want to act like a spoiled kid but after staying in a palace for the past two years, it was hard to give up such luxury without any intermediates.

Sure she had done some 'remodeling' as Jet had called it. In the entrance chamber, she had made a tunnel through the ceiling that stopped short of breaking through the earth. It was the only solution she and the Freedom Fighters could think of for cooking smoke. She had made a couple more tunnels and chambers, including one for sleeping. In the sleeping chamber, she had even pulled slabs of rocks from the walls that doubled as beds. It was an alternative to the floor but it wasn't more comfortable.

After a night of tossing and turning, Yilin was the first one up. She got up and carefully snuck out of the room. She went down the tunnel and came to the entrance chamber. Then she went left. After a five minute walk, she came to the dead end Longshot and Jet had found yesterday. The glowing crystals lined the walls and the ceiling, emitting more than enough light for the area.

Yilin sat down along the wall and sighed. _I'm sorry, Mom, but there'll be no flowers this year. _She closed her eyes as she retreated inside her mind. After some time, her eyes slowly opened.

She saw Jet standing the entrance, a glowing rock in his hands. His dark eyes were on her. "You finally noticed me," he said.

She stood up immediately. 'What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," replied Jet. "I thought maybe you ran off."

"Are you expecting me to?"

Jet shrugged. "It's hard to say. But like Thyme said, you didn't look too excited yesterday. Neither did Longshot or Smellerbee but I know they wouldn't abandon me. You... I'm still trying to figure out." He looked around. "So what are you doing here?"

"I was thinking about my mom," she admitted. "She died two years ago from today."

"Sorry to hear that," he said. "Was it the Fire Nation?"

Yilin shook her head. "Terminal illness. She tried hiding the pain but I knew she was suffering."

Jet walked in. "Tell me about her."

"What?" She couldn't have heard right.

"What better way to honor her memory?"

Yilin leaned against the wall and Jet joined her. She spared him a quick glance before staring at her feet. "Well, she was kind. Hard working. Understanding, maybe even sometimes to a fault. After my dad left to 'see the world,' she tried supporting us both with her pottery. Then one day she fell ill. She was determined to make a living for the two of us but it was clear that the illness had taken a toll. Her pottery wasn't the same and her skills slowly deteriorated. Eventually she couldn't take care of us anymore."

"So what happened?"

"Well, to make life easier for her, I stole and pickpocketed. And being an earthbender allowed for quick escapes. She eventually asked how I was getting the money but I lied to her. I told her that I was doing odd jobs around town and that the people were generous. Then one day, she found out. I tried to steal from a Royal Guard member but he took me down. After they arrested me, they found out where I lived and told my mother everything."

Jet frowned. "But after that, they _still_ let you join them?"

"More or less," replied Yilin. "It actually started off as community service. The guard I tried stealing from, I think he wanted me to get off a bit easy because of my mother. When I got home, she was disappointed in me for doing what I did. But she was angry at herself. For her inability to be a mom. I don't necessarily _regret_ stealing the money but I felt terrible for making her feel that way. So I vowed that somehow I would make it up to her and that I'd kept trying until she died."

"Did you?"

Yilin looked at Jet. His brown eyes were on her. "I would like to think that I did but..."

"But what?"

"I could've done things better."

Jet didn't have to ask her what she meant. He already knew.

Suddenly she pushed off the wall. "Anyway. I guess we should head back before your friends wake up. They already don't trust us alone together." She started walking away, assuming that Jet was right behind her.

"I know but I don't care nearly as much as you do, Yilin."

She turned around and looked at the leader of the Freedom Fighters. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing against them but I know they don't trust me on this. Not yet anyway. I'll have their trust soon."

She would have been discouraged. In fact, she had felt discouraged by a similar situation but Jet was determined to not let him get to him. As if he had faced worse. _He probably has_, she thought as the Fire Nation came to mind. "I'm sure you will, Jet." She tried to smile but it didn't quite reach her eyes. With a deep breath, she tried again. "They'll trust you again."

"I know."

Yilin walked back into the chamber. "So what's your story?"

"My story?"

"Before all this I guess," she said with a shrug. "If you don't mind sharing that is."

He studied her before finally saying, "The Fire Nation killed my parents. But life before that – it wasn't perfect but it was okay..."

**A/N: I wasn't sure if I should give Jet more of a backstory but I could always do so in the future as well as for Smellerbee and Longshot who don't have much of a backstory either. Till later.**


End file.
